Rat Islands

Michael Livingston is proposing Nazi Creek on Little Kiska Island be renamed to reflect the island’s Unangax̂ name — “Kangchix̂,” which translates to gizzard. The map enthusiast said he’s not certain where the island’s traditional name comes from, but he has some theories.

For millions of years, birds lived nearly predator free in the Aleutian Islands. The volcanic archipelago stretches westward for 1,200 miles from the Alaska Peninsula, dotting a border between the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. Hundreds of bird species thrived here. But then came the rats. When a Japanese boat sank in the Western Aleutians around 1780, stowaway rats jumped ship and made it to one of the islands, wreaking havoc on the ecosystem.

Scientists have downgraded the alert level for an Aleutian volcano that began showing an increase in signs of eruption and emitting harmful ash late last…